Nurse's Role in the Modern Resuscitation Era

Abstract

Aim: The aim of the present study was to explore the current literature referring to the new roles of nurses in the modern resuscitation era.
Methods and Material: For the present study, a systematic search of international bibliography from both the review and the research literature was performed to sort out articles mainly over the last several years from the Medline, Medscape and Science Direct databases. Used keywords included cardiac arrest, resuscitation, cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR), nursing role, and rapid response nurse.
Results: The review of the literature indicated that improvement in nursing education, increased needs for expert nurses due to the requirements of specialized fields of medicine, and an increase in the autonomy of the nursing role have led to a change in nurses' responsibilities during CPR. Furthermore, the review showed that roles and duties of nurses during CPR are limited mainly in preparing the drugs administered and monitoring the patients' vital signs. Regarding nurses’ perspectives, a commonly held view is that their role during CPR is slowly but steadily improving. Finally, nurses are perceived by the community as the most capable individuals to perform effective CPR.
Conclusion: Nurses should become more active members of the multidisciplinary team during CPR by increasing their knowledge and improving their skills. Nurses working in departments such as Cardiology, Cardiac and Intensive Care Units and Accident and Emergency Departments should be more willing to attend CPR seminars.